Welcome to Issue 39! We’ve been discussing today about how to bring you even more content in addition to what’s currently being scheduled, so the future is looking bright for 2DArtist and 3DCreative – it’s never a bad time to jump on the ol’ subscription wagon and get yourselves set up to receive your issues automatically each month! *winks*

So what do we have for you? Well, first of all, I’m both proud and honoured to be able to introduce an interview with the super talented and inspirational, James Paick (p.17). I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to James over the past year or so, and have seen his portfolio rack up the most awesome artworks on a monthly basis – this is a portfolio that has regular updates of the most inspiring kind, and you will never fail to take something away with you after a visit to his gallery! And not only is James a master of his trade, he also dedicates time to helping and teaching others. What a great guy? So we were jumping for all it was worth when we got news that James was happy to be interviewed by the 2DArtist team, and we’re pleased to see the final article out this month. We hope you’ll enjoy learning all about the artist behind the artwork as much as we have! Our second interview is with matte painting expert, Chris Thunig (p.7). Chris was first featured in 2DArtist back in 2006 (Issue #02) when he created a tutorial for our Elements series on painting trees, so we are absolutely thrilled to have him back with us this month for an interview feature so we can all check out the stunning portfolio that he has accumulated over the last 3 years, over which time he has worked his way from concept artist to matte painter. Hope you enjoy!

Now, we have one of the strongest sketchbook articles 2DArtist has seen to date – a real feast for the eyes! Roberto F• Castro has kindly given us an insight into the pages of his sketchbook (p.29), ranging from architectural concept sketches, to character designs and futuristic vehicles – a serious kick up the bum for those of us out there who know we can draw but find excuses not to. So get your sketchbooks and pencils at the ready, as you’re going to want to draw yourself silly once you’ve got through this stunning article!

Our tutorials this month feature Dwayne Vance with part 2 of our vehicle rendering tutorial (p.65), in which he’s refining his futuristic car concept in Painter – next month Hoi Mun Tham will be back with us to show us his refinement progress of his excavation digger-type vehicle, so stick around! Our speed paintings have evolved around the topic of, “They looked through the window and what they saw took their breath away”, for which Jesse van Dijk and Levente Peterffy have created another 2 fantastic paintings for our ever random one-life briefs – with very different results (just how we like it!). Check out p.71. Chee Ming Wong is also back with us in chapter 9 of his in-depth space painting tutorial series, in which this month we’re painting sci-fi hangars. Another wonderfully written and insightful tutorial by Chee, our space painting master (p.83)!

Finally, be sure to check out our 2 wonderful Making Of articles by Jose Alves da Silva, who takes us through the creation of his recent image, Mr. Reaper (p.97), and Sean Hong who talks of childhood dreams in an overview about his image, Who Is That… (p.103). Enjoy this month’s issue, and we’ll see you back here for more next month! Ed